Experience Urban Asado

Experience Urban Asado

In Spanish, the word “Asado” means barbecue. However, the Argentinian tradition of Asado is as much about the social element of a cookout as it is about the barbecue itself. Any opportunity to share a meal with family and friends is a time to be fully appreciated.

Nick Carrera, founder of Urban Asado, remembers the joy he saw in his dad whenever he had the chance to prepare an Asado. He recalls how all of his dad’s day-to-day responsibilities seemed to just dance away with the flickering flames.

Nick started Urban Asado in 2013 with the idea of blending his father’s Argentine heritage with a slightly more contemporary approach. He set out to create a more accessible way for people to enjoy all that wood fired grilling has to offer. 

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Maggie’s Herb Farm Delights the Senses

Maggie’s Herb Farm Delights the Senses

Maggie’s Herb Farm is a treat for your senses. Walking through the farm, visitors are embraced by fragrant culinary herbs, beautiful edible flowers, rare superfood plants, medicinal herb plants, native fruit trees and colorful butterfly and hummingbird plants.

The farm offers hundreds of herbs including everything that grows in our area like thyme, chives, a dozen different mints, parsley, sage, rosemary, fennel, stevia and all common herbs. Maggie’s Herb Farm also offers medicinal herbs like turmeric, comfrey, skullcap, mugwort, valerian, katuk and samba – just to name a few.

Maggie’s Herb Farm has been around for 35 years at its current location on County Road 13. The Farm has been growing pesticide-free for many years. Several years ago, Herbalist Dora Baker purchased the farm and has continued its success.

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Made-From-Scratch Business Brings St. Augustine Made-From-Scratch Pizzas

Made-From-Scratch Business Brings St. Augustine Made-From-Scratch Pizzas

Upon retiring many have dreams of travel, leisure or pursuing life-long hobbies. Jimmy and Susan DeAcutis took a completely different route. They chose a brand new career path when they started Jimmy’s Pizza.

The DeAcutis family moved to St. Augustine from New York in 2013. Jimmy had taken an early retirement from a telecom company in 2011 and his wife, a school teacher, saw an opportunity to change their lives for the better and move to St. Augustine. When they had visited relatives here for Christmas in 2011, they instantly fell in love with the city and its people, beaches and history. They had grown tired of the winters in New York and so in July, they packed up and moved down with their three children. Sue found a job immediately, and the move and new life was wonderful for everyone.

After the move, Jimmy tried different ventures and writing. Earlier, he had published a book called Peter Cooper and the Pirate King and was working on the sequel – but thought he should probably look for work to help supplement their income and savings. However, nothing Jimmy came up with really appealed to him. He had spent his previous career tied behind a desk and knew he didn’t want to do that again. Other than writing and being a musician, there was really nothing he was passionate about. Except cooking!

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Ramon Personal Chef Hits it Out of the Park

Ramon Personal Chef Hits it Out of the Park

Ramon Alvarez hit a homerun when he moved from being a professional baseball player to becoming a personal chef.

Ramon first came to the United States 37 years ago to play ball but when that didn’t go as planned, he began cooking at Chili’s. He already knew how to cook Spanish food but it turns out he showed real talent – something Chili’s quickly recognized and therefore sent him to the company’s culinary arts school. He moved up in the company becoming a corporate trainer and then managing the St. Augustine Chili’s for more than 10 years.

One of his co-workers at Chili’s branched out on his own and started the Florida Cracker Café on St. George Street. Ramon joined him as chef and kitchen manager where he remained until a few months ago when he began working full-time as Ramon Personal Chef, his food truck and catering business.

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Costa Brava Brings Mediterranean Cuisine to St. Augustine

Costa Brava Brings Mediterranean Cuisine to St. Augustine

Costa Brava brings the flavors of the Mediterranean to downtown St. Augustine with a delectable sharing menu and a comprehensive wine list. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant invites guests to start or end their day at their location inside the Casa Monica Resort and Spa

The menu takes guests on a culinary journey along the Mediterranean with dishes inspired by North African, Spanish and coastal cuisine. The sumptuous menu includes dishes such as Mediterranean Baked Salmon, Sherry Baked Sea Bass, Kessler Calamari, Bleu Cheese Beef Tenderloin – just to name a few.

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Enjoy Fantastic Food with a View at The Reef

Enjoy Fantastic Food with a View at The Reef

Fresh food, fun atmosphere and fabulous flavor in one of the most spectacular oceanfront settings in Northeast Florida… The Reef has it all.

To complement this oceanfront vista, Chef Bob Henle has created a menu primarily of fish and seafood balanced with beef, poultry, pasta and creative specials that are always fresh and locally-sourced whenever possible. The Reef’s award-winning Sunday brunch features a carving station, fresh omelets and eggs benedict, made to order. And the restaurant’s oceanfront bar is renowned for its Happy Hour.

General Manager Jeremy Ticehurst says it has always been his vision since joining The Reef in 2003 to create an experience inside the restaurant to match the fabulous view outside. He adds this is no small feat when up against Mother Nature and her finest.

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Sprout Kitchen Delivers Delicious Meals to Nourish the Mind, Body and Soul

Sprout Kitchen Delivers Delicious Meals to Nourish the Mind, Body and Soul

Food that makes you feel good. That’s what Sprout Kitchen is providing St. Augustine’s residents and businesses through its plant-based meal, juice and smoothie delivery program.

The weekly delivery service to home or work makes it easy to maintain a healthy lifestyle while consuming nutrient-dense and delicious meals. Sprout Kitchen’s products are 100% whole-food, plant-based, non-GMO, gluten free as well as organic and locally-sourced when possible.

“My passion has always been to educate people that healthy food can also be delicious and flavorful,” explains Forrest Masters, owner and chef of Sprout Kitchen. “I like to say we should all ‘Eat Pretty!’ Food should be bright, vibrant and beautiful. The wider array of colors you eat, the more nutrients you get.”

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Experience Artful Global Dining at Collage of St. Augustine

Experience Artful Global Dining at Collage of St. Augustine

When dining at Collage, be prepared for a first-class, award-winning experience.

The menu reflects the eclectic tastes of owners Mike Hyatt and Cindy Stangby and focuses on fresh local seafood, steaks, lamb, chicken, veal and pastas using international flavor profiles. Add to that an extensive wine list with bottles perfectly suited for Collage’s dishes and sure to please every palate.

The kitchen staff, under the watchful eye of Chef Matt Brown, prepares dishes from scratch daily using the finest and freshest ingredients available. As much as possible, Collage uses fish from local waters and produce from nearby farms. While Collage isn’t afraid to try something new, most of the restaurant’s dishes are original recipes that have been refined over the years.

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Deep Roots Anchor The Raintree in St. Augustine’s Community

Deep Roots Anchor The Raintree in St. Augustine’s Community

Delighting guests with an exquisite intercontinental menu for nearly 40 years, The Raintree Restaurant is a culinary mainstay in downtown St. Augustine.

The Raintree’s cuisine blends Mediterranean, American and Asian flavors in a variety of superb steak, pasta and seafood dishes. Among locals, the restaurant is perhaps most renowned for its Beef Wellington. The Raintree’s decadent dessert bar is a late night favorite for St. Augustine residents. The restaurant boasts an extensive wine list accompanied by knowledgeable staff to help guests choose the perfect bottle. And don’t miss Sunday brunch featuring a full menu of crepes and croques, sandwiches and salads plus a full continental buffet.

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Florida Greek Guy Spices ARE Made to Taste!

Florida Greek Guy Spices ARE Made to Taste!

Opa! That’s what Florida Greek Guy Spices will have you shouting when you taste the explosion of flavors in his spice blends.

Made right here in St. Augustine, Bill Lulias, the Florida Greek Guy, has been committed to creating unique flavors for 30 years. He offers seasoning solutions for just about any dish. Among the products he makes are an All-Purpose Blend, Poultry Blend, Meat Blend, Fish Blend, Greek Village Blend, Island Blackened Fish Blend and Greek Opa! Blend.

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Eat, Drink and Be Irish at Meehan’s

Eat, Drink and Be Irish at Meehan’s

Located on St. Augustine’s bayfront, Meehan's Irish Pub & Seafood House is the place for locals and visitors to feel right at home. Have a pint, swap a story, and stay for dinner.

Traditional Irish food and signature seafood dishes, such as corned beef and cabbage, fish and chips and Shepard’s Pie are some of Meehan’s specialties. The menu also offers a variety of burgers and sandwiches, as well as a raw seafood bar and local seafood favorites. Guests should definitely try their signature dishes, Bangers and Mash, as well as the Seafood Tower. 

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Changing the World, One Pop at a Time

Changing the World, One Pop at a Time

In the early months of 2010 Stephen DiMare was working in Montana for a winter at the Lodge at Big Sky and flew home to St. Augustine for a friend's wedding. On the flight he pitched his idea for a coffee shop to the (random) nice woman sitting next to him. She told him that what he needed in his coffee shop were ice pops, gourmet ice pops in the Mexican style. Stephen listened as she explained that paletas (Spanish for ice pops) could contain anything from cucumbers to fresh pineapple to jalapeños.

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Mix it Up!

Mix it Up!

It’s what Cesar Diaz, founding director of Cocktail Capital, does best.

What does he mix? Latin and South American cuisine to produce delectable tapas and full menus. Artisan and rare spirits to craft masterful cocktails. An eye for spaces and an understanding of people to create exceptional environments. The result? Odd Birds, Damianas, Milagro on 12th and Arepa Life.

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